Certain top garments, such as camisoles, spaghetti tops, etc., are worn by women both as a formal and an informal article of clothing. Usually, these top garments do not provide any support for wearer's breasts. As a result, women have to wear additional undergarments, such as a bra, underneath these top garments. However, wearing a conventional bra underneath a camisole with thin straps often results in the undesirable reveal of bra straps around shoulders or back. Some strapless bras are known, which may be worn to preclude such undesirable reveal of bra straps, but with the strapless bras there is always a risk of the bra slipping down or the breasts being pushed flat, which is often undesirable for the wearers. Bras that are applied with adhesives are also available in the market, but these are usually expensive and can be uncomfortable to wear for a long period of time. Furthermore, camisoles with built-in bra, such as sports bra tanks, are available in the market, but these camisoles are usually made of highly elastic fabrics in order to expand or retract to conform to the breast of the wearer, leaving the camisole to be unflattering and undesirable outside of the sports context. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to obviate the aforesaid problems and to provide wearers with a garment that has both a body-hugging, supportive built-in bra structure on the inside and a loose-fitting look from the outside.
Applicant believes that a related reference may correspond to U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,015 A (hereinafter referred to as '015 patent). The '015 patent discloses ladies' top garment with a sewn-in support element to replace the conventional brassiere. In order to provide sufficient support for women wearing lightweight garments, such as a tank top, the '015 patent provides a separate garment component attached to the upper inner side of the main top, extending rearwardly past its side seam and ending in a releasably engageable strap element at the back. The ladies' top garment of the '015 patent may not be convenient to put on as it may require engaging the clasp element at the back each time. Further, due to the use of the clasp, the garment may be uncomfortable to wear as the hardware may pinch the wearer.
Another related reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,840 B2 (hereinafter referred to as '840 patent), which is directed to women's clothing apparel including a built-in bra. The '840 patent discloses that the straps of the bra are fastened to the shoulder supports of a top garment substantially along the length of the shoulder supports from the front to the back of the garment. Similar to the ladies' top garment of the '015 patent, the women's clothing apparel of the '840 patent may not be convenient to put on as it may require engaging the clasps and adjustment arrangements at the back each time. Further, due to the use of such clasps and adjustment arrangements, the said clothing apparel may be uncomfortable to wear as the hardware may pinch the wearer.
Another related reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,217 B1 (hereinafter referred to as '217 patent). The '217 patent discloses a women's garment with built-in breast support and no underwire. The disclosed women's garment includes an exterior fabric layer for covering the torso and having an upper part for at least partly covering the breasts. An interior fabric layer is connected to the upper part of the exterior fabric layer and is sized to extend only over the upper part of the exterior fabric layer on the inner surface thereof to cover at least part of the breasts of a woman. A pair of side support panels are connected to the interior fabric layer, each at over one lateral area of the torso, the lateral areas being adjacent respective lateral sides of the breasts and are made of non-stretch material for supporting the breasts. A pair of tapes or other fixing mechanisms are connected to the interior fabric layer and extend along respecting medial edges of the side support panels. The '217 patent provides an interior bra structure with non-stretching side panels for supporting the breasts using tapes or other fixing mechanisms. Such fixing mechanisms may not be able to provide firm or reliable support to the breasts of the wearer. Furthermore, the '217 patent does not allow the garment to appear loose-fitting on the outside while maintaining a body-hugging, supportive interior bra structure.
From the above discussion, it may be understood that there are a few shortcomings of existing garments. Therefore, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned limitations and develop a garment with built-in bra which can reliably support the breasts of the wearer without compromising the flattering look of regular loose-fitting garments or being uncomfortable to wear over longer durations.